Wire covering boot



July 4, 1961 c. H. ROMAN 2,990,949

WIRE COVERING BOOT Filed Aug. 15, 1958 INVENTOR CL YDE H. ROMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,990,949 WIRE COVERING BOOT Clyde H. Roman, 1300 Pacific Sh, Sherman, Tex.

Filed Aug. 13, 1958, Scr. No. 754,761 3 Claims. (Cl. 206-46) This invention relates to a boot for enclosing the free ends of a stack of masonry wall reinforcing wires and the like.

There have long been many difliculties in the packing and shipping of reinforcing wire. The main problem consists of protecting persons and things from the jagged and uneven ends of the wire. It is an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive and simple covering for these ends which is easily and quickly applied.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a boot or end covering for a stack of wires which makes the stack easier to handle and will give an attractive appearance to the stack. The boot will also provide a convenient surface for identifying-type and make of the wires.

In the drawings: a

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stack of masonry wall reinforcing wires;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stack shown in FIG. 1 with the boot attached; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the blank which forms the boot.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the masonry wall rein-forcing wire 5 to which this invention relates consists of two stringer wires 6 and 8 and a series of cross-members 10. Only the end section of the reinforcing wire structure is shown. The length and degree of rigidity required in the structure will influence the number of cross-members 10 per length to be used. The conventional manner of shipping such reinforcing structure is forming the units into stacks or bundles and tying them at several places along the stringer members 8 and 16. The cross-members 10 are aligned as closely as possible for ease of handling. When the reinforcing units are arranged in this manner they form an H-shaped stack at each end. This invention provides a boot for legs 9 of the stack. One boot for each leg is required. Unless the stack is tied right at the end, the stringers will tend to spread as shown at 12. The lengths of such reinforcing structures are usually uniform, but the crossmembers do not stack evenly and this results in jagged and uneven terminal points during bundling after manufacture is indicated at 14. In FIG. 1, a bundle of five reinforcing structures is shown; whereas, in usual practice, such bundles will consist of many more wire items in each stack. This aggravates the difiiculties caused by the uneven stacking position and the spreading tendency. Showing so few units in a bundle in the drawings is to facilitate description only.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the numeral 16 indicates a generally rectangular cardboard blank to which this invention is directed. The blank consists principally of a main panel 18, extension members 20 and 22 extending from the longitudinal edges of the main panel, and extension 24 extending from one end edge of said main panel.

Extension 24 consists of end wall 25 and flap 26. Extension 20 consists of side wall 21 which extends along one entire longitudinal edge 7 of the main. panel, and spaced flaps 28 and 30. The remaining extension 22 consists of side wall 23 which extends along the remaining longitudinal edge 9 of the main panel, and spaced flaps 34 and 36. Flap 28 is connected to side wall 21 at 29 and flap 30 is connected to side wall 21 at 31. The placement of these flaps defines a gap 32. On exn p Ce tension 22, the flap 34 is connected to side wall 23 at 19, and flap 36 is connected at 37. The placement of these flaps defines a gap 38 which is opposite gap 32 in extension 20.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it can be seen that main panel 18 is placed against an exterior side of the bundle 6 and arranged so that end wall 25 .is adjacent the longest end of stringers 8. iFlap 26 is then folded over the ends of stringers 8 and will lie parallel to main panel 18' on an interior side of the stack. This results in side wall 25 covering the stringer ends. Side wall 21 is placed adjacent to top stringer 8a and side wall 22 will be adjacent to bottom stringer 8b. Flaps 28 and 30 are then folded over the interior side of said stack and will lie parallel to panel 18. Flaps 34 and 36 are folded over bottom stringer 8b and will lie on the interior side of the stack and parallel to panel 18. This results in side wall 21 lying adjacent to and covering an end portion of stringer 8a, and side Wall 23 lying adjacent to and covering an end portion of stringer 8b.

As best seen in FIG. 2, cross-members 10 will fall between flaps 28-30 and 34-36 which define gaps 32 and 38. The flaps 28 and 34 then lock the boot onto the stack, and prevent it from being pulled off the end. Flaps 30 and 36 prevent the boot from slipping in the other direction.

It can be seen that flaps 28, 30, 3-4 and 36 are approximately one-half the width of panel 18. Side walls 21, 23 and 25 are approximately the width of stringers 8. End flap 26 can be of any convenient length which will enable it to stay in place when flaps 30 and 36 are folded over said end flap. It normally is of a length greater than the differences in length expected in the stringers, however.

The boot is preferably made of a one-piece blank of corrugated cardboard or fiberboard or the like. The points of juncture 7, 29, 31, 33, 35, 9, 25 and 37 between the major elements of the boot are pre-creased during manufacture for ease of application in the field.

Flaps 30 and 36 can he held firmly against the interior of the stack by a variety of means. As indicated at 40, they can be held by conventional wire straps. When flaps 30 and 36 are held firmly in place, the natural tendency of the corrugated cardboard not to bend will ordinarily be enough to prevent flaps 28 and 34 from leaving their positions on the interior side of the stack.

Another feature which may be added to the invention are adhesive strips 42 and 44. These strips may be added to flaps 28 and 30 during manufacture and moistened and fastened to flaps 34 and 36 after the boot has been applied to the stringer ends.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed in the above description, what is deemed to be the most practical and efficient embodiment of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiment as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accornpanyin-g claims.

I claim.

1. A boot adapted to enclose the ends of an H-shaped stack of masonry wall reinforcing wire of the type having two stringer members connected by cross-members therebetween, said stack having a first height, said boot comprising in combination, a longitudinally shaped main panel adapted to be placed against an exterior side of said stack and having a width approximately the same as said stack height, a first side member extending from one longitudinal end of said main panel and adapted to cover the ends of said stringer members, a flap attached Patented July 4., 1961 3 to said first side member and adapted to cover a portion of an interior vertical side of said stack, a pair of second side members extending from the lateral edges of said main panel and of a width approximately equal to the diameter of said wires and adapted to coverthe top and bottom stringer members of said stack, a pair of spaced flap members extending respectively from said second side members and each pair having a gap intermediate their ends, said pair of flaps adapted to fold over an interior side of said stack and spaced so that said crossmembers will be in said gap, whereby said boot may be made self-secured to said stack.

2. The boot as defined in claim 1 wherein said pair 5 each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,444,691 Koch Feb. 6, 1923 0 2,684,758 Aquino July 27, 1954 2,803,336 Stotz Aug. 20, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,528 Great Britain Feb. 24, 1894 

